Updated: Most-Read Stories of 2011: Perry, UT, Groping

Updated, 12/27, 5:59 p.m. Jay Root's story about Rick Perry's taxpayer-funded security costs has shot up the list into the second slot. (Thank you, link from Huffington Post.)

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As 2011 comes to a close, we are taking a look back at the stories our readers liked best, judging by the number of pageviews they received.

With our governor jumping into the GOP presidential fray in August, stories about Rick Perry quickly and definitively became the most popular on the Trib site. And he didn't fail to provide excellent material. Seven of the 10 most-read stories this year are about Perry — his politics, his past and his policy stances.

In a year with a legislative session where lawmakers were trying to scrimp and save and cut pennies, it's little surprise that people were also intensely interested in knowing which state services would face the budget ax.

Just up the street from the Capitol, at the University of Texas, the latest intrigue in a year of controversies at the state's flagship institution also caught readers' attention: the forced resignation of law school dean Larry Sager earlier this month.

And what list of Texas stories would be complete without a kooky fight with the feds? Number three on the list was the Tribune's story about the federal government threatening to shut down Texas airports when legislators debated a bill that would have prevented intrusive airport security pat-downs.